Interactive Natural Language Calling System

ABSTRACT

An interactive voice response calling system ( 1 ) for automatically dialling a plurality of telephone numbers includes database ( 10 ) containing records of dialling information for a dialling campaign. A dialler ( 20 ) translates the records i the database into dialling instructions. A calling unit ( 40 ) initiates a plurality of calls based on the dialling instruction An interactive voice response unit ( 30 ) is operably connected to the calling unit ( 40 ) upon verification by the calling unit ( 40 ) that the connected call is answered by a person. The interactive voice response unit ( 30 ) includes a natural language recognition engine that automatically determines the language of a person and responds in the determined language and storage for temporarily storing answers to the dialling campaign. The system further includes a voice print secure identification unit for verifying a voice of a subscriber, and a switch allowing the interactive voice response unit ( 30 ) to send information relating to a call to the dialler ( 20 ) for updating the dialling instructions.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for providing aninteractive calling system. In particular, although not exclusively, theinvention relates to calling system incorporating interactive voiceresponse capabilities which is designed to provide automated responsesto a subscribers voice input in the subscribers natural language.

DISCUSSION OF PRIOR ART

The provision of interactive call services to date typically hasinvolved the need for a subscriber to enter information or respond tomenu prompts via the telephone keypad.

Recent advances in technology have introduced various interactiveresponse systems, some using voice recognition techniques, that enable auser to enter responses to menu prompts simply by speaking. A technologyof a similar nature has been employed in the computer industry, wherevarious software products are available that allow for the directdictation of content into a type written format which is then displayedto a user by a computer.

One such example of an interactive voice recognition system in atelephony environment is that currently employed by Telstra™ Australia,whereby the subscriber carries on a conversation of sorts with thesystem. The user can simply select the desired menu option by simplyspeaking clearly and concisely into the handset. The system thenidentifies the subscriber's choice and selects the appropriate response,whether it be connecting the subscriber to a human operator orpresenting a submenu for the selected option. This system typicallytends to be an inbound calling system with the subscriber initiating thecall. Furthermore these systems generally are only capable of handlingone particular language for the given application (such as English) anddoes not provide multilingual capabilities. Telstra's system does nothave the ability to recognise continuous speech, requiring thesubscriber to speak in a disjointed format and not in natural sentencesas with normal conversation.

Most outbound automated messaging or calling systems typically focus onautomatically dialling a subscriber so that a message may be played, ordelivered by an operator, or these systems employ conventionaltechniques such as DTMF tones for gathering subscriber responses andparticulars in response to a message for later presentation to anoperator.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,169,798 entitled ‘System and method for automatic call’,for example, discloses a system for automatically calling a subscriberincluding a storage device, a private branch exchange, originatingequipment, and a plurality of operator apparatuses. The private branchexchange originates a call in response to instructions from theoriginating equipment and provides call information relating to theoriginating equipment and the destination operator apparatus. Theoriginating equipment then stores the call information such as customertelephone number etc in a storage device linked with the callinformation. When a response from a called subscriber is transferred tothe operator apparatus, the destination operator apparatus retrieves thecalled subscriber ID information from the storage device by using thecall information as a key and obtains the individual information of thecalled subscriber, which is then displayed to the operator. Generally,this type of system uses conventional means for obtaining subscriberresponses such as DTMF tones entered via a keypad, and does nottypically provide interactive voice response capabilities for obtainingsubscriber responses.

Another such example of an automated calling system is that of U.S. Pat.No. 6,463,426 entitled ‘Automated system and method for delivery ofmessages and processing of message responses’, which discloses a systemfor sending messages to multiple recipients, and for processing ofresponses to the messages. The system includes a message client, messageserver, and system database. The message is created using a universalmessage format. The message content can then be translated into multipleformats and sent to one or more different recipients using one or moredifferent types of messaging devices, including pagers, telephones, faxmachines, and e-mail readers. A recipient profile manager allows eachrecipient to select the messaging devices to be used for messagedelivery as well as preferred messaging schedules, priorities, andmessage security. Receipt of the messages by the recipients is verified,response requirements collected and consolidated from multiple sourcesand presented to the message originator in a structured format. Such asystem typically requires a subscriber to respond via conventional meanssuch as keypads or keyboards and does not typically provide multilingualinteractive voice capabilities for obtaining subscriber responses.

None of the prior art systems described above provide a calling system,which is capable of handling either inbound or outbound calls, and whichis responsive to the natural language of the dialled subscriber.Accordingly, there is a need for a calling system that is able torecognise whether a connected subscriber is indeed a person, if soidentify the language in which the connected person communicates, andthen provide the desired information to the connected person in theirlanguage of choice.

Furthermore, the above described systems do not provide capable ofcontinuous speech recognition and sentence structure analysis.Accordingly, there is a need for a calling system that is capable ofnatural language and continuous speech recognition.

In our earlier Australian innovation patent no 2004100016, filed 15 Jan.2004, I describe an interactive voice response calling system and aninteractive voice response debt collection system. The entire contentsof my earlier Australian innovation patent are herein incorporated bycross reference.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides an interactive voice response callingsystem for automatically dialling a plurality of telephone numbers, saidsystem including:

a database containing a plurality of records, said records relating todialling information for a dialling campaign;

a dialler operably connected to the database, said dialler receiving andtranslating the records relating to the dialling campaign from saiddatabase into dialling instructions;

a calling unit connected to the dialler and a plurality of communicationlines, said calling unit receiving from the dialler the diallinginstructions, and then initiating a plurality of calls based on saiddialling instructions;

an interactive voice response unit being operablely connected to thecalling unit upon verification by the calling unit that the connectedcall is answered by a person, said interactive voice response unitincluding:

-   -   a natural language recognition engine, said engine responsive to        voice input from the person wherein the natural language engine        automatically determines the language of the person and responds        in the determined language; and    -   storage for temporarily storing answers to the dialling        campaign;    -   a voice print secure identification unit coupled to the        interactive voice response unit for verifying a voice of a        subscriber; and

a switch coupled to the interactive voice response unit and the dialler,said switch allowing the interactive voice response unit to sendinformation relating to a call to the dialler, said dialler thenupdating the dialling instructions.

In another form of the present invention there is provided aninteractive voice response debt collection system for automaticallydialling a plurality of telephone subscribers, said system including:

a database containing a plurality of records, said records relating todialling information for a dialling campaign;

a dialler operably connected to the database, said dialler receiving andtranslating the records relating to the dialling campaign from saiddatabase into dialling instructions;

a calling unit connected to the dialler and a plurality of communicationlines, said calling unit receiving from the dialler the diallinginstructions, and then initiating a plurality of calls based on saiddialling instructions;

an interactive voice response unit being operably connected to thecalling unit upon verification by the calling unit that the connectedcall is answered by a person, said interactive voice response unitincluding:

-   -   a natural language recognition engine, said engine responsive to        voice input from the person wherein the natural language engine        automatically determines the language of the person and responds        in the determined language;    -   storage for temporarily storing answers to the dialling        campaign;

a voice print secure identification unit coupled to the interactivevoice response unit for verifying a subscriber; and

an online payment authorisation portal coupled to the interactive voiceresponse unit said payment portal retrieving from the interactive voiceresponse unit storage a subscribers payment details, said payment portalthen initiating a payment transaction based on the retrieved paymentdetails and updating the subscribers records on completion of thetransaction.

The interactive voice response debt collection system may furtherinclude a switch coupled to the interactive voice response unit and thedialler, said switch allowing the interactive voice response unit tosend information relating to a call to the dialler, said dialler thenupdating the dialling instructions;

The voice print secure identification unit may operate in any suitablefashion that enables verification of a subscriber by the unit byanalysing the voice of the subscriber. For example, the voice printsecure identification unit may receive a sample of the subscriber'svoice and store that sample for later retrieval and use to verify thesubscriber's voice by comparing the retrieved sample with thesubscriber's live voice sample. In one embodiment, the sample of thesubscriber's voice may be analysed and one or more characteristics ofthe analysed sample stored in a database. When it is desired to verifythe identity of a subscriber, the subscriber's live voice may beanalysed to determine one or more characteristics of the live voice andthe one or more characteristics of the live voice compared with the oneor more characteristics of the sample voice stored in the database.

In one embodiment, the voice print secure identification unit mayinitially create a biometric template of the subscriber's unique voiceprint by asking the subscriber to state a phrase or unique identifier inthe subscriber's natural language. The voice print identification unitmay extract distinctive vocal characteristics, such as one or more oftone, pitch, or cadence, and/or the measurable acoustic patterns of thespeech. The voice print secure identification unit may store thedistinctive vocal characteristics or measurable acoustic patterns in asecure database for later retrieval from the Voice Print Database anduse the retrieved distinctive vocal characteristics or measurableacoustic patterns to verify the subscriber by conducting a comparisonagainst the subscriber's live voice sample.

Typically, the voice print secure identification unit will convert thesubscriber's speech (both the sample and the live speech) from analogueinto digital format.

In another form of the invention, there is provided a method of callinga plurality of subscribers, said method including:

formulating a campaign and storing said campaign on a database with aplurality of campaigns in a record format;

selecting at least on campaign from the plurality of campaigns fordownload to a dialler;

translating the selected campaign form the record format of the databaseinto dialling instructions, and transmitting the dialling instructionsto a calling unit;

initiating a plurality of calls from a calling unit based on thereceived dialling instructions;

verifying that the connected call is answered by a person, and uponverification transferring the call to an interactive voice responseunit;

determining the connected persons natural language using a naturalspeech recognition engine, said engine responsive to voice input fromthe person wherein the natural language engine automatically determinesthe language of the person;

verifying a subscriber using a voice print secure identificationprocedure;

presenting the selected campaign in the determined language andtemporarily storing answers to the presented campaign, and responding tosaid answers in the determined language; and

updating campaign information stored on the database based on the storedanswers to the selected campaign.

In yet another form of the invention, there is provided a method ofautomated debt collection said method including:

formulating a campaign and storing said campaign on a database with aplurality of campaigns in a record format;

selecting at least on campaign from the plurality of campaigns fordownload to a dialler;

translating the selected campaign form the record format of the databaseinto dialling instructions, and transmitting the dialling instructionsto a calling unit;

initiating a plurality of calls from a calling unit based on thereceived dialling instructions;

verifying that the connected call is answered by a person, and uponverification transferring the call to an interactive voice responseunit;

determining the connected persons natural language using a naturalspeech recognition engine, said engine responsive to voice input fromthe person wherein the natural language engine automatically determinesthe language of the person;

verifying a subscriber using a voice print secure identificationprocedure;

presenting the selected campaign in the determined language andtemporarily storing payment details in response to the presentedcampaign, and responding to said answers in the determined language;

transmitting said payment details to an on line payment authorisationportal, said portal then initiating a payment transaction based on thereceived payment details;

updating campaign information stored on the database based on theoutcome of said payment transaction.

In embodiments of the methods of the present invention, the voice printsecure identification procedure may operate in any suitable fashion thatenables verification of a subscriber by analysing the voice of thesubscriber. For example, the voice print secure identification proceduremay receive a sample of the subscriber's voice and store that sample forlater retrieval and use to verify the subscriber's voice by comparingthe retrieved sample with the subscriber's live voice sample. In oneembodiment, the sample of the subscriber's voice may be analysed and oneor more characteristics of the analysed sample stored in a database.When it is desired to verify the identity of a subscriber, thesubscriber's live voice may be analysed to determine one or morecharacteristics of the live voice and the one or more characteristics ofthe live voice compared with the one or more characteristics of thesample voice stored in the database.

In one embodiment, the voice print secure identification procedure mayinitially create a biometric template of the subscriber's unique voiceprint by asking the subscriber to state a phrase or unique identifier inthe subscriber's natural language. The voice print identificationprocedure may extract distinctive vocal characteristics, such as one ormore of tone, pitch, or cadence, and/or the measurable acoustic patternsof the speech. The voice print secure identification procedure may storethe distinctive vocal characteristics or measurable acoustic patterns ina secure database for later retrieval from the database and use theretrieved distinctive vocal characteristics or measurable acousticpatterns to verify the subscriber by conducting a comparison against thesubscriber's live voice sample.

Typically, the voice print secure identification procedure will convertthe subscriber's speech (both the sample and the live speech) fromanalogue into digital format.

Preferably, the dialling unit is an auto-dialler, alternately thedialler may be a computer running a dialling program or protocol.

The calling unit may be any suitable device capable of placing aplurality of calls across a given network, and is most preferably aprivate area branch exchange (PABX) for placing calls to the publicswitched telephone network (PSTN).

Preferably the switch is a local area network (LAN) switch.Alternatively, the switch may be a hub.

The online payment authorisation portal preferably conducts transactionsacross a secure network connection such as a secure internet connectionor a dedicated private line.

BRIEF DETAILS OF THE DRAWINGS

In order that this invention may be more readily understood and put intopractical effect, reference will now be made to the accompanyingdrawings illustrate preferred embodiments of the invention, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of the system of one embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 2 (a) is a flow chart depicting the operation of the embodimentillustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 2 (b) is the continuation of the flow chart of FIG. 2 (a);

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram of a further embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 4 (a) is a flow chart depicting the operation of the embodimentillustrated in FIG. 3;

FIG. 4 (b) is the continuation of the flow chart of FIG. 4 (a) and

FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing the inclusion of voice print verificationinto the flow charts shown in FIGS. 4 (a) and 4 (b).

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIG. 1 there is illustrated an automated interactivenatural language calling system (1) of a first embodiment of theinvention. The system of the embodiment includes a database (10), adialler (20), an interactive voice response unit (IVR) (30) and acalling unit in the form of a private area branch exchange (PABX) (40),which may switch between the dialler and the IVR as required.

The database (10) stores and maintains a plurality of records relatingto the subjects of various dialling campaigns. The records may containsuch information as subscriber identification number, account details,address and payment history etc.

The dialler (20) and the IVR (30) may be connected to the database via alocal area network (LAN) (2) depending on the desired application. Forexample in a marketing or survey application, it may be advantageous tohave both the dialler, the IVR and the database operably interconnectedvia the LAN allowing the database and the dialler records to be updatedin real-time. For other application such as politic or emergencyannouncements (i.e. typically a one off message), may only require theIVR and the dialler to be operably connected via the LAN.

Typically the dialler (20) is connected via a plurality of communicationlines (3) to the PABX (40). The PABX is further connected to the IVR(30) and a communications network (6) via communication lines (4) and(5) respectively.

The operation of the system as illustrated in FIG. 1 will be betterunderstood with reference to the flow charts shown in FIG. 2 a and FIG.2 b. The desired dialling campaign is downloaded from the database tothe dialler (100). Each dialling campaign may be specifically tailoredto meet the particular requirements of the desired application.

The downloaded dialling campaign is typically in a format specified forthe database, which format is not readily recognised by the PABX. Uponreceiving the campaign data, the dialler must firstly translate thecampaign data into a format recognisable by the PABX (101). Typicallythis is a list of subscriber telephone numbers, with each numberdirectly corresponding to a record in the database. The dialler theninstructs the PABX to initiate calls to the each number contained in thelist (102). The PABX then begins to establish connections to each of thesubscriber numbers provided by the dialler (103).

Once the PABX establishes a connection with a given subscribers numberit then proceeds to detect the method of answer at the receiving end(104). The PABX attempts to determine whether the answering party is anactual person (105). If the answering party is anything other an actualperson, such as a fax or answering machine, the PABX terminates theconnection and informs the dialler of the call failure (106). Thedialler then stores this data for later use (107). The stored data mayeither be uploaded the database (108), which then collates allsuccessful and unsuccessful call connections and then updates allrelevant fields relating to a subscribers records in real-time based onthe call outcome. These update records can then be used as a basis for anew dialling campaign. Alternatively, the dialler may simply instructthe PABX to attempt to establish a connection to the numbers where theconnection was judge to have failed after a predetermined interval(102). For example, the dialler may instruct the PABX to attempt toestablish a connection on a second pass of the list to only thosenumbers which failed on the first pass before informing the database ofa failure to connect with an actual person.

If the PABX determines that the answering party is an actual person, itthen transfers the call to the IVR (109). The IVR then determines thecalled person's natural language (110). The language determination isperformed by a natural language speech recognition (NLSR) engine housedwithin the IVR. Essentially the NLSR engine is software driven and iscapable of not only recognising the person's natural language, but alsohas the ability to comprehend continuous speech and also performsentence structure analysis. This sophisticated engine enables thesubscriber to communicate with the automated system simply by speakingin an ordinary manner.

This is opposed to most current systems, which require the subscriber tocommunicate in a disjointed format. For example if the subscriberdesired to enter the number 22 most current systems would require thesubscriber to speak out each number namely “two”, “two” where as theNLSR engine allows the user simply to speak the number as they normallywould namely “twenty two”. As far as the subscriber is concerned, theinteraction with the automated system of the present invention issimilar to that of a normal conversation, allowing subscriber to usenaturally formulated sentences eliminating the disjointed formatincreasing the ease of use to the subscriber and improving systemefficiency. One such example of a commercially available NLSR engine isthat supplied by AVAYA Communication Inc, which is based on technologyfrom Nuance and Speechworks and is currently available with thecapability to handle more than 18 different spoken languages.

Once the NLSR has identified the person's natural language, the IVR thenpresents the relevant campaign message(s) in the identified language(111). The IVR then identifies the person's responses to the campaignprompt(s) and temporally stores these responses (112). The IVR continuesto monitor the conversation to determine whether the conversation hasconcluded (113). If the conversation has not concluded, the IVRcontinues to present the campaign information in the identified language(114). Once the conversation has been determined as being completed dueto either, the completion of the campaign message, the called partyterminating the call or a period of inactivity on the line, the IVR theninstructs the PABX to terminate the call, and informs the dialler of theoutcome of the call (115). If the dialled party terminates the callprematurely or the line has been idle for a predetermined period (e.g. 1minute) the system may then regard this as a failed connection, and assuch the IVR instructs the PABX to close the connection, and then informthe dialler of the call failure. If the IVR determines that the call wassuccessful, (i.e. complete message was relayed) it then instructs thePABX to close the connection, and informs the dialler that thesubscriber has been successfully contacted.

Upon the closure of the connection the dialler becomes aware of a freeports on both the IVR and the PABX and instructs the PABX to make morecalls as required to maintain the maximum number of IVR ports occupiedto increase system efficiency.

Once the dialler has ascertained from the IVR whether the call wassuccessful or unsuccessful it then proceeds to update the call listaccordingly in real-time, as per step (107). The dialler then mayproceed as previously discussed by either uploading this data to thedatabase (108), or starting the calling process once again (102),depending on the systems configuration.

FIG. 3 illustrates a schematic block diagram of a further embodiment ofthe present invention suited to debt recovery. Unless otherwiseindicated the same reference numerals are used to refer to the samecomponents as in FIG. 1.

The illustrated debt recovery system of FIG. 3 consists of a database(10), a dialler (20), an interactive voice response unit (IVR) (30); aprivate area branch exchange (PABX) (40) and an on-line paymentauthorisation portal (OLPAP) (50).

The interconnection of the IVR, dialler and the PABX is similar to thatpreviously discussed in relation to the embodiment illustrated inFIG. 1. The following description will focus mainly on the differencesbetween this embodiment and that of FIG. 1. The major difference is theaddition of the on-line payment authorisation portal (OLPAP) and itseffect on the interconnection, configuration and functioning of thesystem.

As previously discussed it advantageous to interconnect the diallerand/or the IVR via a LAN to the database, depending on the systemsdesired application. In the case of the debt recovery system of FIG. 4,it is necessary to connect both the dialler and the IVR to the databasevia a LAN, with a further LAN connection provided for the OLPAP.

The OLPAP is also connected to a communication network (7) viacommunication lines (8). Preferably, the communication network is asecure network with appropriate safeguards such as a secure internetconnection or a dedicated private line.

The operation of the debt recovery system will be better understood withreference to FIGS. 4 a and 4 b.

The dialling campaign is downloaded from the database to the dialler(200), the dialler then translates the dialling campaign data into alist of contact numbers (201), and then instructs the PABX to initiatecalls to each of the numbers on the list (202). The PABX then initiatescalls to each of the contact numbers based on the dialler's instructions(203).

Upon call connection the PABX determines the answering method at thereceiving end (204) and determines whether or not the call has beenanswered by an actual person or whether it has been answered byautomated equipment such as an answering service or machine, fax orpersonal computer etc (205). If the answering party is piece ofautomated subscriber equipment such as the examples above, the PABXterminates the connection and informs the dialler of the failure (206).The dialler then stores this data for later use (207). The stored datamay either be used as the basis of a new campaign in which case thedialler uploads the data to the database (208), which then collates allsuccessful and unsuccessful call connections and then updates allrelevant fields relating to a subscriber's records in real-time based onthe call outcome.

Alternatively, the dialler may simply instruct the PABX to attempt toestablish a connection to the numbers where the connection is judged tohave failed after a predetermined interval. For example, the dialler mayinstruct the PABX to attempt to establish a connection on a second passof the list to only those numbers, which failed on the first pass (202)before informing the database of a failure to connect with an actualperson.

If the PABX determines that the answering party is an actual person, itthen transfers the call to the IVR (209). The IVR then determines thecalled person's natural language (210). The natural languagedetermination is performed as discussed earlier by a natural languagespeech recognition (NLSR) engine housed within the IVR.

Once the NLSR engine has identified the person's natural language, theIVR employing the NLSR engine begins to present the appropriate messagerelating to the amount of money owed by the called person, and provideprompts as to the available options in the person's natural language(211). The IVR then awaits the person's responses to the collectionmessage (212).

From the subscriber's responses to the message, the IVR determineswhether the call has been terminated (213), or whether the subscriberhas elected to pursue payment of the outstanding debt (214). In theevent of a negative response to pursuing payment at this time, the IVRplays an appropriate warning message (224) to the subscriber, beforeinstructing the PABX to terminate the call and, informing the dialler ofthe outcome of the call (225).

In the case of premature call termination by the called person, or aperiod of prolonged inactivity on the line the IVR instructs the PABX toclose the connection, and informs the dialler of the call failure (225).Upon the closure of the connection the dialler becomes aware of a freeports on both the IVR and the PABX and instructs the PABX to make morecalls as required to maintain the maximum number of IVR ports occupiedto increase system efficiency.

If the called subscriber elects to proceed with payment of theoutstanding amount, the system then proceeds to present the variouspayment options available (215). The IVR then awaits the person'sselection of a payment option and the entry of the relevant paymentdetails (i.e. credit card number, expiry date, etc.) and temporarilystores this information for play back to the called person (216) inorder to confirm the accuracy of the captured details (217). If thedetails are in error, the system then prompts the subscriber to repeattheir payment details again (218). If the captured details are confirmedas being correct, the IVR then forwards them via the LAN to the OLPAP(219).

The OLPAP then connects to the relevant financial institution andprocess the transaction (220). The OLPAP then awaits verification thatthe transaction has been successfully processed (221). If a positiveacknowledgement is received from the financial institution in respect ofthe transaction, the OLPAP then informs the IVR of the completion of thetransaction, which inturn instructs the PABX to terminate the call, andinforms the dialler of the call outcome (225).

If the transaction is denied for reasons such as a connection failure orinsufficient funds available etc., the OLPAP instructs the IVR to informthe subscriber of the error in processing the transaction (222). Thesystem then accesses the number of attempts made at processing thetransaction (223). If the number of attempts is greater than a setthreshold (in this case it is illustrated as 3 attempts) the IVR thenproceeds to play an appropriate warning message (224), beforeinstructing the PABX to close the call, and informing the dialler of thecall outcome (225).

Once the dialler has ascertained from the IVR that the call has beensuccessful or unsuccessful, it then updates the contact listaccordingly, as per step (207). The dialler then may proceed aspreviously discussed by either uploading this data to the database(208), or it may start the calling process once again (202), dependingon system configuration.

FIG. 5 shows a further embodiment of the present invention. The flowchart of FIG. 5 may be incorporated into the Flowchart shown in FIG. 4(b). The flowchart shown in FIG. 5 allows for the verification of aperson, such as a subscriber, by the system. This may be useful inapplications such as a variety of commerce and customer serviceapplications. Also known as voice verification, it can be incorporatedinto solutions including applications for improving identificationsecurity and is a method of preventing ID fraud or theft.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, after step 213 (from FIG. 4( b)), thevoice verification unit checks if the person on the line has enrolledtheir voice print (at 310). If yes, the system and method moves to step350, which involves verification of the person's identity.

If the person on the line has not enrolled their voice print, the personis asked to state a phrase or a unique identifier in the person'snatural language (at 312). The person's voice print is enrolled at 314by a unique identifier. The person's voice print may be recorded at 315and the person's voice or voice characteristics are recorded in adatabase, referred to as a voice print database 316. The voice printdatabase is a secure database having appropriate security protocols inoperation.

The person on the line is then allowed to continue (at 318).

From step 318, the process will transfer to step 350. If the person hadpreviously enrolled their voice print, steps 312 to 318 would bebypassed and the person moved directly to step 350 of the process. Step350 relates to verification of the identity of the person on the line.The person is required to state their unique identifier (at 351). Theperson's live voice sample, obtained when the person on the line statestheir unique identifier, is recorded (at 352) and the live voice sampleis compared (at 354) against the stored voice print template in thevoice print database. If the live voice sample is determined to matchthe stored voice print, the person is allowed to continue (356). If theflowchart forms part of the flowchart shown in FIG. 4( b), the personthen proceeds to step 214 shown in FIG. 4( b),

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the system may create a biometricvoice print of the caller. The biometric voice print may be, forexample, a template of the person's unique voice characteristics. Thattemplate is created when the person enrolls with the system, whereby forany subsequent calls the person's live voice sample is compared againstthe pre-recorded sample. There are three stages to the authenticationprocess (i) enrolment; (ii) identification; and (iii) verification.Through a one-time enrolment process where the person speaks a shortphrase (for example, the person's unique identification number ortelephone number) the system collects voice samples resulting in amathematical representation of the person's voice, which defines theperson's distinctive voice characteristics to discriminate betweenspeakers. These characteristics are based on many factors, including theunique physiology of the physical structure of their vocal tract andtheir unique speech patterns.

A spoken phrase is then converted from analogue to digital formatextracting the distinctive vocal characteristics, such as tone, pitch,cadence, and the measurable acoustic patterns on the speech.

The voice prints are stored in a secure database and are later used toverify the person, whereby the system locates the person's stored voiceprint from the database then completes the verification based on theperson's unique speech. The verification process may involve extractionof the distinctive vocal characteristics, such as tone, pitch, cadence,and the measurable acoustic patterns on the speech, fro the live voiceof the person on the line (or from the recording of the live voice ofthe person on the line).

The voice verification process described above may be used in theflowchart shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

It is to be understood that the above embodiments have been providedonly by way of exemplification of this invention, and that furthermodifications and improvements thereto, as would be apparent to personsskilled in the relevant art, are deemed to fall within the broad scopeand ambit of the present invention described herein.

1. An interactive voice response calling system for automaticallydialling a plurality of telephone numbers, said system including: adatabase containing a plurality of records, said records relating todialling information for a dialling campaign; a dialler operablyconnected to the database, said dialler receiving and translating therecords relating to the dialling campaign from said database intodialling instructions; a calling unit connected to the dialler and aplurality of communication lines, said calling unit receiving from thedialler the dialling instructions, and then initiating a plurality ofcalls based on said dialling instructions; an interactive voice responseunit being operably connected to the calling unit upon verification bythe calling unit that the connected call is answered by a person, saidinteractive voice response unit including: a natural languagerecognition engine, said engine responsive to voice input from theperson wherein the natural language engine automatically determines thelanguage of the person and responded in the determined language; andstorage for temporarily storing answers to the dialling campaign; avoice print secure identification unit coupled to the interactive voiceresponse unit for verifying a voice of a subscriber; and a switchcoupled to the interactive voice response unit and the dialler, saidswitch allowing the interactive voice response unit to send informationrelating to a call to the dialler, said dialler then updating thedialling instructions.
 2. An interactive voice response debt collectionsystem for automatically dialling a plurality of telephone subscribers,said system including: a database containing a plurality of records,said records relating to dialling information for a dialling campaign; adialler operably connected to the database, said dialler receiving andtranslating the records relating to the dialling campaign from saiddatabase into dialling instructions; a calling unit connected to thedialler and a plurality of communication lines, said calling unitreceiving from the dialler the dialling instructions, and theninitiating a plurality of calls based on said dialling instructions; Aninteractive voice response unit being operably connected to the callingunit upon verification by the calling unit that the connected call isanswered by a person, said interactive voice response unit including: anatural language recognition engine, said engine responsive to voiceinput from the person wherein the natural language engine automaticallydetermines the language of the person and responds in the determinedlanguage; storage for temporarily storing answers to the diallingcampaign; a voice print secure identification unit coupled to theinteractive voice response unit for verifying a subscriber; and anonline payment authorisation portal coupled to the interactive voiceresponse unit said payment portal retrieving from the interactive voiceresponse unit storage a subscribers payment details, said payment portalthen initiating a payment transaction based on the retrieved paymentdetails and updating the subscriber records on the completion of thetransaction.
 3. An interactive voice response debt collection system asclaimed in claim 2 further including a switch coupled to the interactivevoice response unit and the dialler, said switch allowing theinteractive voice response unit to send information relating to a callto the dialler, said dialler then updating the dialling instructions. 4.A system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the voice print secureidentification unit receives a sample of the subscriber's voice andstores that sample for later retrieval and use to verify thesubscriber's voice by comparing the retrieved sample with thesubscriber's live voice sample.
 5. A system as claimed in claim 4wherein the voice print secure identification unit analyses the sampleof the subscriber's voice and one or more characteristics of theanalysed the subscriber's live voice to determine one or morecharacteristics of the live voice and the one or more characteristics ofthe live voice are compared with the one or more characteristics of thesample voice stored in the database.
 6. A system as claimed in claim 4wherein the voice print secure identification unit creates a biometrictemplate of a subscriber's unique voice print by asking the subscriberto state a phrase or unique identifier in the subscriber's naturallanguage and extracts distinctive vocal characteristics and/ormeasurable acoustic patterns of the speech and stores the distinctivevocal characteristic or measurable acoustic patterns in a securedatabase for later retrieval from the secure database, and uses theretrieved distinctive vocal characteristic or measurable acousticpatterns to verify the subscriber by conducting a comparison against thesubscriber's live voice sample.
 7. A system as claimed in claim 4wherein the voice print secure identification unit converts thesubscriber's speech from analogue into digital format.
 8. A method ofcalling a plurality of subscribers, said method including: formulating acampaign and storing said campaign on a database with a plurality ofcampaigns in a record format; selecting at least on campaign from theplurality of campaigns for download to a dialler; translating theselected campaign form the record format of the database into dialinginstructions to a calling unit; initiating a plurality of calls from acalling unit based on the received dialling instructions; verifying thatthe connected call is answered by a person, and upon verificationtransferring the call to an interactive voice response unit; determiningthe connected persons natural language using a natural speechrecognition engine, said engine responsive to voice input from theperson wherein the natural language engine automatically determines thelanguage of the person; verifying a subscriber using a voice printsecure identification procedure; presenting the selected campaign in thedetermined language and temporarily storing answers to the presentedcampaign, and responding to said answers in the determined language; andupdating campaign information stored on the database based on the storedanswers to the selected campaign.
 9. A method of automated debtcollection said method including: formulating a campaign and storingsaid campaign on a database with a plurality of campaigns in a recordformat; selecting at least one campaign from the plurality of campaignsfor download to a dialler; translating the selected campaign form therecord format of the database into dialling instructions, andtransmitting the dialling instructions to a calling unit; initiating aplurality of calls from a calling unit based on the received diallinginstructions; verifying that the connected call is answered by a person,and upon verification transferring the call to an interactive voiceresponse unit; determining the connected persons natural language usinga natural speech recognition engine, said engine responsive to voiceinput from the person wherein the natural language engine automaticallydetermines the language of the person; verifying a subscriber using avoice print secure identification procedure; presenting the selectedcampaign in the determined language and temporarily storing paymentdetails in response to the presented campaign, and responding to saidanswers in the determined language; transmitting said payment details toan on line payment authorisation portal, said portal then initiating apayment transaction based on the received payment details; updatingcampaign information stored on the database based on the outcome of saidpayment transaction.
 10. A method as claimed in claim 8 wherein thevoice print secure identification procedure receives a sample of thesubscriber's voice and stores that sample for later retrieval and use toverify the subscriber's voice by comparing the retrieved sample with thesubscriber's live voice sample.
 11. A method as claimed in claim 10wherein the sample of the subscriber's voice is analysed and one or morecharacteristics of the analysed sample stored in a database and when itis desired to verify the identity of a subscriber, the subscriber's livevoice is analysed to determine one or more characteristics of the livevoice and the one or more characteristics of the live voice are comparedwith the one or more characteristics of the sample voice stored in thedatabase.
 12. A method as claimed in claim 10 wherein the voice printsecure identification procedure creates a biometric template of thesubscriber's unique voice print by asking the subscriber to state aphrase or unique identifier in the subscriber's natural language andextracting distinctive vocal characteristics and/or the measurableacoustic patterns of the speech, said distinctive vocal characteristicsor measurable acoustic patterns being stored in a secure database forlater retrieval from the database, the retrieved distinctive vocalcharacteristics or measurable acoustic patterns being used to verify thesubscriber by conducting a comparison against the subscriber's livevoice sample.
 13. A method as claimed in claim 8 wherein the voice printsecure identification procedure converts the subscriber's speech fromanalogue into digital format.
 14. A method as claimed in claim 8wherein, the distinctive vocal characteristics are selected form one ormore of tone, pitch, or cadence.